His Majesty, The King
Plot We open in the hallway outside Henry’s chamber. Princess Margaret’s household is gathered there along with the Duke of Suffolk. The king comes out says goodbye to his sister. Margaret hugs her brother and reminds him of his promise to let her marry who she chooses after the King of Portugal dies. Henry pushes her away and walks over to his friend Charles. He asks the Duke to to watch over his sister. Charles promises to look after her as if she were his own sister. Henry loudly blesses the group and says they should pray. Wolsey begins the call to prayer. Henry sits with Thomas Moore in his study. The lawyer tells the king that the Pope was very impressed by the pamphlet Henry wrote and has given him the title, “Defender of the Faith”. The king is pleased until Moore tells him that Martin Luther accused him of ranting and spewing falsehoods. Henry becomes angry, throws some papers on the ground and stalks out of the room. Charles shows Margaret around the ship. She flirts with him as they prepare to leave. Henry heads to Mass with his friends Anthony and William. His wife is waiting there with her ladies. They enter together and pass Lady Anne Boleyn. As the king and queen sit down, Henry glances over at Anne for a moment before the service begins. Lady Anne Clifford enters Henry’s study while he is reading. She returns the brooches he gave Anne Boleyn along with a letter. She writes that she is returning to Hever and will think about him on the journey there. The king sadly crumples the note. Mr. Pace is to be released from the Tower of London. He is hallucinating that his dead wife is asleep in the bed in front of him. Not wanting to alarm him, the guard pretends he can see her too. Wolsey has noticed Cromwell’s work ethic and compliments him for it. The Cardinal will need the lawyer for a job soon. Wolsey goes over state affairs with Henry. The king looks out the window, not really paying attention. They are still allies with Spain and have to raise taxes to support the Emperor’s war efforts. The new ship Henry commissioned is being built and there is a new visitor at court. Wolsey asks Henry if he would like to meet this beautiful young woman, and the king agrees to. As Henry leaves the room the Cardinal tells him that he has appointed a new secretary in place of Mr. Pace. Henry just wants to leave, so he agrees with Wolsey again. Wolsey introduced Henry to princess Margueritte. She is beautiful and her husband is at home. Boleyn and Norfolk discuss Wolsey. The Cardinal is supposed to be giving the money from closed monasteries to the king, but it spending it on his own affairs. Norfolk wants the tell the king right away but Boleyn advises that they wait until the time is right to present there evidence to Henry. Sir Thomas comes to dinner and Henry is very happy to see his friend. William and Anthony are jealous that Henry loves Moore the most. The lawyer joking tells them that his life is expendable. Henry confronts Thomas Wyatt. The poet denies the rumors about himself and Anne Boleyn. Henry has sex with the King of France’s sister. The two attendants sitting outside quietly laugh about how much noise she’s making. Back on the boat Margaret watches Charles take his shirt off and notices that his bed would be right next to hers if it wasn’t for a wall. A messenger arrives from the Emperor. The french forces have been defeated and King Francis is the Emperor’s prisoner. Henry is overjoyed and tells Anthony that they are going to celebrate. Henry holds a joust in honor of the victory. He and William face each other with lances. The king does well, breaking two lances on his friend. Wolsey and Moore notice that Queen Catherine is well liked by the people. They also discuss that no one should expect to get to heaven on a feather bed. The queen discreetly gives the messenger a letter for her nephew. At Hever Anne reads a letter from Henry to her brother George. He asks to see it and is somewhat impressed with the language the king uses. Henry wants Anne back at court and sent her a beautiful necklace. William impresses his king by carrying a good sized tree. Henry forgets his visor and is hit in the face by Anthony. Everyone becomes concerned and Boleyn is the first to reach him. They are relieved to see that he is OK and that his eye isn’t damaged. Henry is determined to joust again, showing the crowd that the King of England is unharmed. Catherine wishes he would not but lets him. This time around Henry puts his visor down and accidentally hits Anthony in the visor causing him to fall off his horse. The people who get to him first see blood seeping around his neck and someone goes to fetch a doctor. Henry quickly rides over to his friend, concerned. Charles and Margaret play cards on the boat. She soon sends her ladies out of the room after just one round of the game. The immediately start having sex. Henry asks Wolsey to write to the Emperor congratulating him on his victory and to tell him that England is ready to share in the glory. The Cardinal introduces the King to his new secretary, but Henry is distracted by Anne’s reappearance. The king asks Lady Anne if he can see her privately. Henry is happy to see his daughter Mary. She impresses him with her french and the king picks her up and gives her a kiss. Queen Catherine asks why Wolsey opens her letters. Henry makes an excuse for his first minister and sinisterly asks if his wife has anything to hide. Anthony then enters the throne room. King Henry examines the wound he inflicted upon his friend. Knivert laughs it off and is knighted. William enters soon after and is knighted for carrying a tree. Cromwell attends a secret Lutheran meeting. The leader calls the Pope the antiChrist and prays that someday there movement will destroy the Catholic Church. Henry meets Anne in the hallway. They are both nervous, Anne more so. The king tells her that he desires her with all his heart. Henry grabs her neck with one of his hands. He asks Anne who the young man she was talking to earlier was. She explains he’s her brother, George. Henry kisses but she leaves to take care of the queen as soon as she hears people approaching. Antony and William walk up and Compton asks who that was. Henry replies that it was just a girl. Princess Margaret’s party has finally reached Portugal. She and Charles are still on the boat looking out the window, delaying the inevitable. Margaret won’t admit that she’s glad they had sex, she does admit to not hating Brandon. The King of Portugal is a horny old man. He can’t wait to have sex with his new wife, and tells Margaret that he wants her to have his children. The princess faints and Charles catches her. Henry sits with his wife and watches Anne Boleyn dance. He’s all smiles to Catherine, but his gaze in intense as he watches the graceful young woman move. When the song is over the king loudly applauds. Charles walks Margaret down the aisle. Just before they reach the king she stops walking and asks what he’s doing. Suffolk replies he’s doing what Henry commanded. They take a few more steps forward. The King of Portugal removes her veil and they kneel before the altar. The priest begins the service in Latin. Henry writes Anne another note. He would give up his kingdom for an hour in her arms. Lord Boleyn watches as his daughter reads it. He’s pleased that Anne is doing an excellent job in seducing the king. Margaret gets into bed and is soon joined by her new husband. The court is gathered around the bed, to wait for the new couple to consummate their marriage. The curtains are drawn and old man grunts and groans, making love. When it’s over Margaret is shocked but is able to speak, the king was able to have sex with her. Henry, Anthony and William go riding. They stop when the get to a ditch because William wants to go around. The king, wanting to show off in front of his friends tries to vault over the ditch. Henry’s flagpole breaks, and he falls in. While his buddys laugh over his struggle one of his guards saves the king from drowning. After being pulled out, Henry spits out dirty ditch water. Henry makes it back home and feels very sick. Charles asks the king’s permission to dance with Margaret. He gives it but eyes the Duke suspiciously. Charles is leaving the next day. He’s done the job Henry told him to do. Charles muses that the King of Portugal may live for a long time. Margaret knows that he teases her because he loves her. Henry is still in bed, and now is sweaty and staring blankly at nothing. His doctor asks his permission to cut him, to drain some of the bile. The king gives his consent and the physician carefully cuts into his arm. Henry winces as the blood comes out. Margaret looks out the window of her palace at a boat. Henry’s recent brush with death was a wake up call for him. He explains to Wolsey that if he died the Tudor dynasty would be ruined. He only has a daughter and a bastard son. Henry married his brother’s wife and God has punished the King of England. He wants a divorce and demands the Cardinal get him one. Queen Margaret smothers her husband with a pillow while he sleeps. Major events *Wolsey appoints Thomas Cromwell as Henry's new secretary *The Emperor defeats the French troops and captures King Frances *Henry forgets to put his visor down while jousting and is hit in the face by Anthony Knivert *Henry knights Sir Anthony Knivert and Sir William Compton *Princess Margaret Tudor reluctantly marries the King of Portugal *Henry becomes very ill from accidentally swallowing ditch water *The king demands that Cardinal Wolsey get him a divorce *Margaret smothers her new husband Trivia *last appearance of Mr. Pace * first appearance of Thomas Cromwell Category:Episodes Category:Season One